Little Tom Dandy Lyrics
A girl remembers her first suitor, Little Tom Dandy, who could offer only a spoon, a dish and a little pewter.
Little Tom Dandy
Little Tom Dandy
Was my first suitor,
He had a spoon and dish,
And a little pewter.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/little-tom-dandy/
- Type
- Mother Goose
- Tune
- Spoken in a mock-serious voice
- Best for ages
- 4 to 8 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Was my first suitor | Place a hand on your heart and sigh. |
| He had a spoon and dish | Hold out one hand like a dish and tap it with a finger for a spoon. |
| And a little pewter | Hold up a pretend cup and give it a polish. |
What Does Little Tom Dandy Mean?
A suitor is someone who comes courting. The speaker says that her first suitor, Tom Dandy, arrived with almost nothing: a spoon, a dish and a little pewter, which is a grey metal once used for mugs and plates.
The humour is in how small his gift is. It is a good rhyme for talking about what people really need in a home, and for noticing how a short list of things can tell a whole story about someone.
History and Origin
James Orchard Halliwell prints the lines in The Nursery Rhymes of England as a short verse of their own. The book gives no author or date for it.
Learning Activities
- Pack a basket: choose three things a person might bring as a gift and say why.
- Pewter hunt: look at a spoon or mug and talk about what it is made of.
- Change the name: say the rhyme again with a friend's name in the first line.
- Rhyme match: find the end words that rhyme and list them.